April 30, 2023
Sermon Series: Spirit-Filled Living Is Essential for Christians
Book of Ephesians
Sermon # 9: WALKING IN THE LIGHT
Ephesians 5:8 – 14
Have you ever groped around in the dark to find a light switch? As you carefully stepped, you were fearful of what might be in your path or, of some unseen danger. You felt you would never get where you were going. But what happened when you turned on the light? Your fears were erased, your heart calmed, and you got your bearings back. The same is true in our Christian walk. When we grope around in the dark, it is a scary world out there. But when we walk in God’s light, he helps keep us on the right path!
Two walks through life are available to us. There is the life and walk, of darkness, or the life and walk, of light. There is a world of difference between the two. In fact, a person’s eternity is determined by which life and walk he pursues.
While there is pressure to move backward, there is also pressure to move forward. Just as the flesh and the world want us to move backward, the Spirit of God and the resurrected spirit want us to move forward and be what God saved us to be.
Even though we live in a world that is dominated and driven by sin. God has redeemed a people. He has redeemed a people that He expects to be different. God has a redeemed people He has empowered to be different. Have you been redeemed to walk like Christ?
Let’s look at these verses and learn about Walking In The Light.
I. HOW WE ARE CHANGED v. 8
*What We Were – Before we were saved, we were in darkness. We “were sometimes darkness.” What does that mean? We were lost and in the darkness of sin and depravity. We were lost in the dark and headed to Hell.
What We Are – We “are light in the Lord.” When God saved us, He delivered us from darkness. Jesus Christ has not only shown us light; he has changed our nature from darkness to light; we shall live eternally. We are the light of the eternal God in the midst of a world of darkness.
II. HOW ARE WE CHARACTERIZED v. 9-10
Look what Paul is saying. As we are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, three kinds of fruit will be evident in our lives. Our character will display these three kinds of fruit.
· It is seen in Goodness – Refers to our relationships with others. This has also to do with our treatment of others.
· It is seen in Righteousness – Refers to our standing before God. When He saved us, God declared us righteous.
· It is seen in Truth – Refers to the personal integrity of our own lives: honesty, reliability, and trust worthiness.
These three characteristics are called “fruit.”
III. HOW ARE WE COMMANDED v. 11-13
· The charge: “Have no fellowship” means “do not be a partaker of.” Believers should not be a partaker of those things that are evil, even association.
· We can’t allow ourselves to be trapped by the world.
· We are Commanded to “reprove them.” This means that we are to “expose” evil for what it is. When we are silent about sin, we are guilty of encouraging it.
“Reprove” carries the idea of “correction, discipline, and punishment.”
The world needs the light we have to show them. It is the Lord’s will that His children be light in a dark world. It is the power of His light within us that will highlight the differences between us and the lost world around us.
ILLUSTRATION:
Does the darkness of sin ever overwhelm you? The Gospel of Christ illuminates the way for the Christian believer.
A father took his son into an art shop to buy a picture of Christ for him. The boy was shown different pictures of Christ but he didn’t like any of them. “No, Daddy, these are not what I want.” The father, thinking that his son didn’t want a picture of Christ after all, asked, “What kind of picture of Christ do you want?” Promptly the boy replied, “I want a Christ who shines in darkness!” The boy had seen a luminous picture of Christ which shone in darkness.
· We greatly need Christ to shine in the night of sorrow.
· We greatly need Christ to shine in the night of suffering.
· We greatly need Christ to shine in the night of testing.
· We greatly need Christ to shine in the night of temptation.
Only He can illumine life’s dark pathway. As we follow Him, our way grows increasingly bright.
Responsive Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
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